To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be a preference eligible OR have been separated after three (3) or more years of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. Based on the VEOA amendment, veterans who are released shortly before completing the 3-year requirement are still considered to be eligible. Although "shortly" is not defined, reasonable judgment should be applied. For example, a veteran may be released a month early because of accrued vacation time. "Active service" as defined in title 37, United States Code, means duty in the uniformed services and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by the armed services Secretary concerned.

Veterans who were appointed before the 1999 amendments to the VEOA were given Schedule B appointments in the excepted service. Those veterans who actually competed under merit promotion procedures will be converted to career conditional appointments retroactive to the date of their original VEOA appointments. Those who did not compete and were appointed non-competitively will remain Schedule B until they compete. While under Schedule B, these employees may be promoted, demoted, or reassigned at the Agency's discretion, and may compete for jobs (whether in their own or other agencies) under the terms and conditions of the VEOA authority (i.e., they may apply when the agency has issued a merit promotion announcement to candidates outside the agency). If selected, they, too, will be given career conditional appointments.

All employees appointed under the VEOA are subject to a probationary period and to the requirements in the agency's merit promotion plan.

Employees who are appointed in the competitive service have the appeal rights of competitive service employees. Those under Schedule B have the appeal rights of excepted service employees.

To be eligible for a VRA, a veteran must:

To be eligible for a VRA appointment, an otherwise eligible veteran must be appointed within 10 years of his or her last discharge from active duty.

This time limit does not apply to a veteran with a 30 percent or more service- connected disability.

Ordinarily, an agency may simply appoint any VRA eligible who meets the basic qualification requirements for the position to be filled -- without having to announce the job or rate and rank applicants. However, as noted, veterans' preference applies in making appointments under the VRA authority. This means that if an agency has 2 or more VRA candidates and 1 or more is a preference eligible, the agency must apply veterans' preference. Furthermore, an agency must consider all VRA candidates on file who are qualified for the position and could reasonably expect to be considered for the opportunity; it cannot place VRA candidates in separate groups or consider them as separate sources in order to avoid applying preference or to reach a favored candidate (see 5 CFR 302.304 and 6.300.3.1-13, "Ranking and Referral of VRA Eligibles for Appointment" ).

A VRA appointee may be promoted, demoted, reassigned, or transferred in the same way as a career employee. As with other competitive service employees, the time-in-grade requirement applies to the promotion of VRAs. If a VRA-eligible employee is qualified for a higher grade, an agency may, at its discretion, give the employee a new VRA appointment at a higher grade up through GS-11 (or equivalent) without regard to time-in-grade.

A training or educational program must be established for any VRA appointee who has less than 15 years of education. This program should meet the needs of both the agency and the employee.

If the VRA appointee has less than 15 years of formal education, the Service is required to provide a written training program agreement (signed by the veteran) in which the veteran agrees to pursue a training or educational program during the two year employment period. If VRA appointees have 15 years of formal education or more, they may participate in training programs on the same basis as other employees. A training program could include on-the-job assignments and/or classroom training. To ensure that this requirement is met, a written training or educational plan must be developed.

The written training or educational plan is to contain definitive long and short-range objectives. Such objectives are necessary to effectively evaluate on-the-job performance and other training participation in the program.

There have been cases where Veterans' Readjustment Appointments are used to permanently fill low-level positions. This is not the intent of the VRA authority. Such positions should be used as a means of qualifying for a target position.

There are two groups of VRA candidates:

Some current employees who have VRA eligibility may not be eligible for promotion solely because they do not meet the time-in-grade restriction. However, they may be considered for a new VRA without regard to time-in-grade. The IRS has the discretion to decide whether to consider the employee for a new VRA; therefore, the Service requires consideration of a new VRA appointment if the employee -- at the time of application -- requests consideration as a VRA appointee.

VRA eligibles, including those with preference, have no right to "reopen" a closed promotion announcement (that is, to apply after the closing date). By law, preference eligibles have the right to reopen competitive examinations that were open for applications from the general public.

These actions do not confer competitive status to the veteran.

5 CFR 302 Subpart B and 5 CFR 307 should be followed to insure that preference is observed for disabled veterans and other veterans entitled to preference (while all VRA eligibles have served in the armed forces, they do not necessarily meet the eligibility requirements for veterans' preference).

Current IRS employees who apply under an internal merit promotion announcement as a VRA appointee (or as a 30% or more compensable disabled veteran), and are eligible, should be listed on a separate certificate in preference order as follows:

Selections must be made from the highest available preference category, as long as there are at least three candidates in that group. When fewer than three candidates are in the highest category, consideration may be expanded to include the next category. The VRA-eligible candidates who are not entitled to veterans preference should be placed in the non-preference category. As long as there is one preference eligible on this list, you may not select from the non-preference category unless justification to pass over the veteran is adjudicated. There is no requirement to select from this source of candidates; it is only one of many candidate sources. A veteran on this list does not block the consideration of other sources. Therefore, you may also choose to select from other certificates that contain different sources of candidates.

Employees who do not meet the criteria for conversion must be terminated.

During their first year of employment, VRA appointees have the same limited appeal rights as competitive service probationers, but otherwise they have the appeal rights of excepted service employees. This means that VRA employees who are preference eligibles have adverse action protections after one-year. VRAs who are not preference eligibles do not have this protection until they have completed 2 years of current continuous employment in the same or similar position.

The Service may make a noncompetitive temporary or term appointment based on an individual's eligibility for VRA appointment. The temporary or term appointment must be at the grades authorized for VRA appointments, but is not a VRA appointment itself and does not lead to conversion to career-conditional.

The following regulations are applicable:

Permanent or temporary civilian — Federal employees who are called to active duty (or volunteer for active duty) are entitled to the rights and benefits contained in this subsection.

Employee Assistance Programs — (EAPs). Employee Assistance Programs can be very helpful to employees and their families in coping with the stress and disruption associated with a call to active military duty. EAPs provide short-term counseling and referral services to help with financial, emotional, and dependent care problems. These services are available to employees who are family members of those who are performing active military duty. In addition, many EAPs offer services to family members of employees.

Pay — Employees performing active military duty receive compensation from the Armed Forces in accordance with the terms and conditions of their military enlistment or commission. They do not receive any compensation from their civilian-employing agency unless they elect to use military leave or annual leave as described in paragraphs 3 and 4, below. Agencies should continue the payment of availability pay for criminal investigators and annual premium pay for administratively uncontrollable overtime (AUO) work, or regularly scheduled standby duty, on days of military leave or annual leave.

Military Leave —Employees who perform active military duty may request paid military leave, as specified in 5 U.S.C. 6323(a). Under the law, an eligible full-time employee accrues 15 days (120 hours) of military leave each fiscal year. In addition, an employee may carry over up to 15 days (120 hours) of unused military leave from one fiscal year to the next. When the 15 days of military leave that are carried over are combined with the 15 days of military leave accrued at the beginning of the new fiscal year, this produces a maximum military leave benefit of 30 days in a fiscal year. However, since an employee cannot carry over more than 15 calendar days to the next fiscal year, any unused military leave in excess of 15 days will be forfeited at the beginning of the next fiscal year. Part-time career employees accrue military leave on a prorated basis. Employees who elect to use military leave will receive full compensation from their civilian position for each hour charged to military leave, in addition to their military pay for the same period. 5 U.S.C. 6323 was amended in 2001 to require charges for military leave to be made on an hour-for-hour basis for all hours the employee would have worked. Additional information on charging military leave can be found in OPM's memorandum of January 25, 2001, at OPM's website at: http://www.opm.gov/oca/compmemo/2001/cpm2001-2.html. Employees who perform active military duty may be granted an additional 22 days of military leave under 5 U.S.C. 6323(b) if such leave is granted for the purpose of providing military aid to assist domestic civilian authorities to enforce the law or protect life and property.

Annual Leave — Employees who perform active military duty may request the use of accrued and accumulated annual leave to their credit (under 5 U.S.C. 6303 and 6304), and such requests must be granted by the agency. In addition, requests for advanced annual leave may be granted at the agency's discretion. Employees who use annual leave will receive compensation - in addition to their military pay for the same period -- from their civilian position for all hours charged to annual leave.

Leave Without Pay (LWOP). USERRA generally requires an agency to place an employee entering the military on LWOP unless the employee chooses to be placed on military leave or annual leave, as appropriate, or the employee requests to be separated. Full-time employees do not earn annual or sick leave in a pay period in which they have accumulated 80 hours of LWOP. In addition, part-time employees on LWOP also earn less annual and sick leave, since they earn leave based on the number of hours in a pay status.

Lump-Sum Leave Payments — Employees who enter into active military duty may choose to:

Health Benefits — Employees who are put in a nonpay status while on military duty can keep their Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage for up to 18 months. During the first 365 days, they are responsible for paying the "regular" employee amount of the premium; they can either pay the premiums on a current basis, or they can incur a debt to the Government and repay it when they return to active Federal Service. During the remainder of the 18 months, employees are responsible for the full premium (employee share, plus the Government share), plus a 2 percent administrative fee. These premiums must be paid on a current basis. At the end of 18 months, FEHB coverage terminates. Employees get a free 31-day extension of coverage during which they can convert to a nongroup policy. These employees are not eligible for TCC (Temporary Continuation of Coverage). If an employee doesn't want to continue the FEHB coverage while he/she is in nonpay status, the employee can elect in writing to have the FEHB coverage terminated (the employee still gets the free 31-day extension and the right to convert).

When an employee who has been on military duty returns to active Federal Service, he or she can enroll in an FEHB plan within 60 days of the return to service (as long as the position is not excluded from coverage).

Life Insurance — Employees who are put in a nonpay status while on military duty can keep their Federal Employee's Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) coverage for up to 12 months. This coverage is free. At the end of 12 months in nonpay status, the coverage terminates. Employees receive a free 31-day extension of coverage, and have the right to convert to a nongroup policy.

If a Federal employee with FEGLI is called to active military duty and is killed, death benefits are payable to the employee's beneficiaries. Accidental death and dismemberment benefits are also payable under Basic insurance (and Option A, if the employee had that coverage) unless the employee was in actual combat at the time. Accidental death benefits are in addition to regular death benefits. Even if accidental death benefits are not payable, regular death benefits are payable.

When an employee who has been on military duty returns to active Federal Service, he or she gets back whatever types of life insurance he or she had before going into nonpay status (as long as the position is not excluded from coverage).

Retirement — An employee who is placed in a LWOP status while performing active military duty continues to be covered by the retirement law -- either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Death benefits will be paid as if he or she were still in the civilian position. If the employee becomes disabled for his or her civilian position during the LWOP period and has the minimum amount of civilian service necessary for disability benefits (5 years for CSRS, 18 months for FERS), the employee will become entitled to disability benefits under the retirement law. Upon eventual retirement from civilian service, the period of military service is creditable under either CSRS or FERS, subject to the rules for crediting military service.

If an employee separates to enter active military duty, he or she generally will receive retirement credit for the period of separation when the employee exercises restoration rights to his or her civilian position. If the separated employee does not exercise the restoration right, but later re-enters Federal civilian service, the military service may be credited under the retirement system, subject to the rules governing credit for military service. However, if an employee covered by CSRS is separated to enter active military duty during a period of war or national emergency (as declared by Congress or proclaimed by the President), the employee is deemed not to be separated from his or her civilian position for retirement purposes (unless the employee applies for and receives a refund of his or her retirement deductions).

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). As of October 9, 2001, Federal civilian personnel who are also in the military may contribute to TSP, both as a member of the uniformed service and as a Federal civilian employee. Enrollment into a uniformed service TSP account must be done through the uniformed services' personnel office. The uniformed service account will be maintained separately from the civilian account, and contributions to the uniformed service account can only be made from uniformed service pay. Similarly, contributions to the civilian account can only be made from your civil service compensation. Once separated from either the uniformed service or Federal civilian service, TSP accounts can be combined. Specific information on the TSP rules can be found at http://www.tsp.gov/.

Return to Civilian Duty — An employee who enters active military duty (voluntary or involuntary) from any position, including a temporary position, has full job protection provided he or she applies for reemployment within the following time limits:

Appeal Rights —An employee or former employee of an agency in the executive branch who is entitled to restoration in connection with military duty may appeal an agency's failure to properly carry out the law directly to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Alternatively, the employee may first submit a complaint to the Department of Labor (DOL), which will attempt to resolve it. If resolution is not possible, DOL may present the case to the Office of the Special Counsel, which may represent the employee in an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Appeals to MSPB must be submitted within 30 calendar days after the effective date of the action being appealed.